


Some Betrayal Over Tea

by HeyoAyo112



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Betrayal, Lots of it, M/M, Sad, Tea, Weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22951024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeyoAyo112/pseuds/HeyoAyo112
Summary: How did Edelgard and Hubert go around working with Those Who Slither in the dark without Ferdinand knowing? Let's say he found out.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir & Edelgard von Hresvelg, Ferdinand von Aegir & Edelgard von Hresvelg & Hubert von Vestra, Ferdinand von Aegir & Hubert von Vestra, Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 6
Kudos: 98





	Some Betrayal Over Tea

The monastery was quiet, it being near the witching hour. The two moved quietly. There weren’t many guards wandering around, but they didn’t want to take any chances. As her bedroom came into view, they took one more look around, and snuck inside. As soon as the door clicked shut, there was a firm voice. “It’s not very noble to be sneaking around this late at night.”

In the light of the small fire in Ferdinand’s palm, Edelgard and Hubert spun around to face the surprise guest. Both immediately became battle ready. It didn’t help that Ferdinand was holding the Spear of Assal while lighting up the room with his fire. The two’s wariness was justified. With Ferdinand’s weapons and deep frown, he had cut quite a figure.

“Well? Do you two have any answers for yourselves?”

Edelgard sheathed her axe, but Hubert’s fingers still sparkled with waiting magic. “What in the world are you doing here Ferdinand? I wish to go to sleep and breaking into my room to bother me is a new low for you.”

Hubert tilted his head and spoke up after Edelgard. “Would you like me to take care of him lady Edelgard?”

“Like how you two are ‘taking care of’ Those Who Slither in the Dark?”

The smirk on Hubert’s mouth quickly dropped, and Edelgard reached for her axe again.

“Well, that might not be right. Maybe colluding would be more correct? You tend to dance a fine line with many things Edelgard, but this is new even for you.”

Hubert snarled at the comment. “How _dare_ you talk to lady Edelgard like that?! Especially on something you know nothing about?!”

“Where did you get the suit of armor, Flame Emperor?”

The question caused the two to freeze. This silence hung on the three like thick fog.

“Well? Are you two suddenly allergic to answering questions?”

“Where did you hear about the flame emperor?”

“Monica got me onto your trail. Or would you call her Kronya?”

Hubert took a step forward, looking furious. “You are talking loosely on a topic you have no right to speak about.”

“You have no right to address me!” Ferdinand punctuated his sentence by stamping the opposite end of his lance on the ground. “You two have been keeping secrets from me the whole time we have lived at the academy! I deserve answers for the reasons two of my most trusted allies and friends betraying me like this!”

Hubert wasn’t ready to back down. He took a step forward again to fight back, but Edelgard gently grabbed his arm to hold him back. When Hubert looked back, he saw a look of remorse on her face. “What do you need to know?”

Ferdinand nodded and sheathed his lance. He used his fire to a couple candles. Near one was a set of tea. He frowned at it but spoke up anyway. “There’s tea and coffee here. It went cold while I waited for you two. Feel free to have some regardless.” He poured cups for all three of them, frowning at his own cup as he took a sip. He looked up in time to see Hubert take his own cup and show a flash of remorse of his own.

“Did you hire bandits to kill the other house leaders?”

Edelgard jolted in her seat. “Yes.” Hubert knew she felt some sort of regret towards that situation but knew she wouldn’t voice it. This wasn’t the time.

“Dangerous. Especially since you held those conversations in from of that stupid bandit’s minions. Loose lips let things travel. Now, who pushed lord Lonato into going against the church? I’ve spoken to some of the people under him and they spoke of very highly. The revenge ploy was new to them. Was it you who pushed him to die at the hands of his adopted son?”

The sentence struck Edelgard harshly. The whole academy knew of the mission. The new professor leading the Golden Deer to quell a small rebellion, led by Lord Lonato, Ashe’s adopted father. At the time, Ashe wasn’t a part of the Golden, but had almost demanded to go along with them. Lorenz later told Ferdinand that the meek archer charged directly towards his father, and after a heated debate, had taken his life with his bow. The archer had been broken for nearly a month and to that point still refused to speak about it.

“I… I don’t know.”

“So, it wasn’t you?”

Edelgard quickly met Ferdinand’s gaze. “No.” Her voice was firm. Ferdinand felt relieved and didn’t bother to hide it.

“At least there is some good news.” Ferdinand gave himself a minute for them to enjoy their drinks, even if enjoy wasn’t the right word. Hubert hadn’t noticed the coffee in his cup until he took a sip. It was his favorite. He frowned, but kept his mouth shut.

“Next: who orchestrated the attack on the goddess’ right of rebirth?”

“The idea was mine. Lord Lonato was to lead the attack, but his lust for revenge changed my plans.”

Ferdinand gave her a leveled look. “Your hatred for the church is subtle but noticeable. You must’ve viewed this year as an opportunity to start your fight against the church.”

Edelgard didn’t comment. She didn’t hear the comment as a question, so she felt no reason to respond.

“Who gave the Lance of Ruin to Miklan?”

Hubert spoke up first. “You know exactly how that went. Miklan stole it from his family.”

“Edelgard?”

“It was I.”

Hubert’s head whipped around to face her. “Lady Edelgard! I warned you about getting involved with him! He was a wild card; too risky to associate with!”

“The world needs to see what the crest system drives people to!” Edelgard fought back.

“How about Sylvain having to watch his brother turn into a twisted monster? And then having to slay him?” The question silenced the other two’s bickering. “You were willing to watch two brothers fight to the death just so it would fit your views?”

“I stand by my original statement. The world needs a chang-”

“No matter who you trample on to prove your point? Even if it includes families? Children?”

Edelgard looked down to her cup. She didn’t answer because he already knew her answer.

“Disgusting.” Hubert spoke up to defend Edelgard, but Ferdinand beat him to it. “I am NOT finished!”

Hubert found himself frozen. He had never been spoken to like that, let alone from Ferdinand of all people.

Ferdinand kept going. “Who was Monica before she was Kronya?”

“I don’t know. She was a student here before I was old enough to join the academy. The information I gathered is that she was kidnapped, in a similar way to Flayn, and was replaced.”

“So, you’re ok with working people who just do that? Erase a child’s life and replace it with an assassin?” Silence. “I heard she was a sweet child. Did you know that when she was discovered, someone had sent a missive to her father? He was delighted to hear that she was found. He got the news that his daughter had died while he was traveling to Garreg Mach.”

It was clear that Ferdinand wanted to dig into the two. He was clearly angry. It showed in every question.

“How long did you work with Solon? Did you know he was part of Those Who Slithered in the Dark?”

“The month before his death. I didn’t realize that he was feeding information on the whole academy until then. When I confronted him, he revealed his true identity but said that he supported my and my plans. That being said, I’m glad the professor slew him. It was a hassle to have to watch our back around him.”

“So that’s the line? Snooping? Not patricide? Not fratricide?”

Edelgard had collected some steam with her answer. The questions deflated her in a few seconds.

“Did you know that Kronya was going to kill Jeralt?”

For the first time in the conversation, Edelgard hesitated.

“Well? Did you?”

“… Yes.”

“There really is no hope for you, is there von Hresvelg?”

“What the hell kind of question is that, von Aegir?” Edelgard challenged.

“How low will you go?!” Ferdinand’s voice shattered the quiet their quiet voices were trying to support.

“Lower your voice Ferdinand. We don’t need to raise voices and cause trouble.”

“Shut the hell up von Vestra. I’ll address you when I’m ready. Until then sit back like a good lap dog.” The words stung but Ferdinand kept going. “You are going on a rampage that is destroying the lives of so many people around you! Three different situations that you were involved in that ended with families torn apart. Does it feel good? Do you enjoy it? You must if you kept going after the first time. Is your goal really worth throwing away these lives and your own morality?”

“Yes!” Edelgard’s voice cut through Ferdinand’s onslaught of rhetorical questions. “The choices may not have been the cleanest or the best, but they were necessary sacrifices for the pursuit of my goals! The world needs to change, and it won’t until it sees why it needs to change.”

Ferdinand wasn’t expecting the outburst but was still calm and collected. He let her words linger as he sipped his tea. “I’ve known your opinions on the crest system for years. And while I do enjoy being a noble, I understood and supported your goals. How could I not? I’ve known you for quite some time Edelgard, and I admired you for most of that time. Your drive and commitment are, well, were revolutionary in my mind. I challenged and competed with you because I enjoyed seeing how far your drive would get you. And I wanted to be your advisor because I was excited to see where you would lead the world, not just the empire.”

Ferdinand set his empty cup down and laid a hand on his lance. “When I first heard of your connection to Those Who Slithered in the Dark, I denied it. Noble Edelgard von Hresvelg would never associate with people as despicable as them. But the real reason I denied it was because it meant that you were conducting your plans for the future without me. Allow me to be sentimental for a moment: I’ve viewed you as an ally for years, even a dear friend. And when I found out that the rumor was right, it broke me. I trusted you with everything Edelgard. I couldn’t believe that you would stoop so low in so many different ways.

“A couple weeks ago, the new professor gave this to me. We had been having tea for a couple months at this point. And no, I haven’t told them anything about your despicable acts. But he could see I was troubled. I’m not sure what type of natural insight he has, but he gifted this lance to me.” Ferdinand rested the lance on his lap. The crest in the spear lit up briefly, as if acknowledging Ferdinand and his pain. “It’s as if he knew I’d need some support in the up and coming days.”

Something clicked in Hubert’s head. “Did you bring that lance thinking you would fight us?” His hands started to spark with magic again.

“I thought that you would try to kill me tonight.”

Ferdinand’s ability to silence a room was still going strong, as the magic at Hubert’s grasp died out and Edelgard’s eyes grew to saucers. She was the first to speak up. “What in the world would make you think that?”

Ferdinand turned a fierce glare towards her. “Don’t play innocent with me. If you’re capable of ruining lives as casually as you already have, what would make me think you wouldn’t do the same to me?”

“Ferdinand…”

The man in question turned to Hubert. “Hubie. Hubert. Don’t lie to me and tell me you wouldn’t think the same thing.” Hubert’s gaze lowered to his cup as Edelgard looked between the two.

“Oh, you didn’t know? I had asked out Hubert 4 months ago. We may fight like cat’s and dogs, but he’s fiercely loyal and intelligent. I’ve even come to enjoy the barbs we share; it keeps me on my toes. So” He sent Hubert the same glare he gave Edelgard previously. “Imagine my surprise the man I potentially loved was floating around in the darkness with my best friend, ruining the lives of our classmates. I’ve dealt with a lot of pain in my life; it’s expected for nobles. But nothing hurt more. The betrayal from Edelgard was a deep pain, but you Hubert? To find out you were helping her every step? It _broke_ me. I’ve never felt so alone in my life. So yes. I came into this room knowing that I might not leave alive. I still hold on to that belief. That’s why I brought the spear with me. But in reality, if I do leave this room, what will be left for me? The two people I had planned to revolve my life around don’t want me there. What’s left for me?”

By the end of his speech, the other two were at a loss of words. They had no idea Ferdina-their friend was suffering so deeply and for so long. Neither were known for strong emotions, but it was Ferdinand. He had wormed his way into their hearts after years of knowing each other. And with Hubert, he thought he had been doing a good job of keeping Ferdinand out of their mess. Per usual, Kronya had ruined everything, and now they were in a bigger mess. He realized that Ferdinand must have bottled these emotions up, even when they were spending time together.

Ferdinand could see the wheels turning in their heads, so he decided to take control again. “I’m not going to fight you two, but I’m not going to join you. I think my best option is to move the Golden Deer.” He coughed to cover up his own emotions trying to bubble up. “I think my smartest move would be to distance myself from you two. You two have proved that you don’t want nor need my company or assistance. I… There is much more I want to say, but I feel that it’s best I leave instead.” And with that final speech, he went to do just that. He gave one last comment before closing the door on the way out.

“I hope we don’t meet on the battlefield one day.”


End file.
